


Riding Lessons

by colorcoded



Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Horseback Riding, Horses, Post-Canon, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-01-21 04:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorcoded/pseuds/colorcoded
Summary: Phillip teaches Aurora how to ride a horse in preparation for their wedding. Some post-canon fluff.
Relationships: Aurora/Phillip (Disney)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28
Collections: 2019 Disney Animated Movie Exchange (DAM Exchange)





	Riding Lessons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ultra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/gifts).

The beginning of the wedding ceremony would feature a large procession throughout the city, with the bride and groom-to-be at its head. The whole order of the column, the color of the horses the couple would ride, and the design of the horses' trappings had all already been decided by King Hubert's steward, before Aurora's parents were able to point out that their daughter did not yet know how to ride a horse.

The somewhat frazzled steward quickly started elaborating an alternative vision involving a horse-drawn carriage - that carriage would need to be designed, the column reordered to convey a different feel - before his liege waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Have Phillip teach her! My boy is as comfortable on a horse as he is on his feet, and a very good teacher too." He added, "And I'm sure the two _lovebirds_ would appreciate the opportunity to spend some time together!"

So it was Briar Rose found herself rising early and going to the stables, dressed in simple, plain clothes comfortable for riding and which could be dirtied without anyone minding, to meet Phillip, who would teach her how to ride. Phillip had evidently risen even earlier than she had to brush and saddle the horse she would ride - a mare whose pale grey, almost white, color was a perfect match for Samson, Phillip's favorite horse.

"This is the horse you're going to ride at the ceremony," Phillip said. "I thought you might appreciate getting to know her early. I think her name is Whisper, but I call her Delilah."

Rose's lips curved up into a smile at Phillip's sense of humor. "Is that... really all right, though?" she wondered aloud. She knew the story of Samson and Delilah - her aunts had read it to her. It wasn't exactly a happy story.

"Well, they'd be a match at least," Phillip said, adding with a grin, "If she gives him trouble, all the better." He then got into what they were there for, explaining basic safety rules for working with horses, like where not to stand to be safe from kicking hooves. He then had Rose walk a lap around the field with Delilah and feed her some carrots as a way for woman and horse to get accustomed to each other. Rose had never met an animal she hadn't adored, and while Whisper/Delilah was certainly larger and more muscular than most animals one would encounter in a forest, hardly any time had passed before Aurora was whispering endearments and chatting to her like an old friend.

After she had walked around the field once, Phillip suggested she try mounting the horse. Briar Rose had seen Phillip do it dozens of times - he made it look like the most natural thing in the world - but as she stood next to the mare, she couldn't even figure out which leg to use or where to put it, and the stirrup seemed so much _higher_ than she had thought that she was sure that it was impossible to lift her leg high enough to reach it.

Suddenly she felt two strong hands around her waist, hoisting her straight up into the air and depositing her lightly onto the saddle. "For now, let's just do that," her fiancé said. "I'll be around on the day of the wedding, and if not, there should be plenty of people to help you get on and help you off, just in case. Are you all right?"

Rose nodded, settling into the seat and adjusting her legs so that they were comfortable. "I'm fine," she said.

Now it was Phillip's turn to lead Delilah in an easy, slow lap around the field. Riding the horse was easier and more comfortable than Aurora had thought it would be; with Phillip at Whisper's side, all she had to do was sit, really, and not purposely throw herself off-balance. Phillip even complimented her, saying how good her posture was, how natural and elegant she looked while riding - but she was sure that it would be a different story without him there leading the mare's reins. How was she supposed to tell Whisper how to start and how to stop, which direction to move in, while she was sitting on top of the horse, her mind mainly focused on keeping herself firmly in the sadlle?'

For now, though, not much concentration was required from either Rose or Phillip and so they were able to chat as Whisper ambled her way around the field. Phillip asked her how she was settling in, and whether being a princess was everything she thought it would be. She wasn't sure how to answer that as she had never had any expectations in the first place. But she talked about spending time with her parents, the king and queen, and how she now knew them well enough to be very glad that they had not seen her cry the evening she had been brought to the castle, the evening she had pricked her finger. How awful it would have been for them to see the person who they had eagerly waited for, for over half of their lives - for they had spent many years trying to conceive - in tears at the thought of rejoining them!

But she was glad she had been able to greet them with a smile on her face, glad that they were a part of her life now, hopeful to get to know them better, and just a little bit nervous she wouldn't live up to their expectations, even though such a worry seemed a bit silly. Indeed, Phillip could assure her she needn't be anything except their daughter to bring them joy.

They finished another lap around the meadow, and so Phillip brought the horse to a stop and explained to Rose how to tell the horse to start and stop. "When you want Delilah to walk, push in here" - he pressed a finger against the heel of Rose's foot - "pat her neck lightly on the right, and say, 'Walk.'"

"That's it?"

"Yep, that's it. And to stop, pull back lightly on the reins." He took the reins in a hand and mimed doing the motion without actually pulling the reins taut. "Just like that. You can say 'Whoa' too." After the explanation, he tasked Rose with getting the horse to walk several paces before telling her to stop.

Rose did as she was told, rotating her heel in and saying, "Walk." At first Whisper didn't respond, and so Aurora tried again, and this time the horse responded so quickly and immediately that she was almost caught by surprise. After the unexpected start, though, riding Whisper was as gentle and easy as it had been when Phillip was leading her and Rose had no trouble with riding. And when she signalled the horse to stop, she came to a halt immediately. Rose looked down at Phillip, who had kept pace with the horse off to the side, a look of excited accomplishment on her face.

He flashed an encouraging smile in response. Rose loved that smile. At the beginning, when they had first met, the confidence, almost cocky, that it had projected and the small hint of mischief, had put her on edge and made her wary. (And who knew if you could trust random strangers you encountered in the forest?) But she soon realized that it was just the smile of a good-humored person who found amusement in almost everything.

The woman and horse continued in that manner across the field, walking a dozen or so paces and then coming to a halt again, with Phillip occasionally giving advice, to pull on the reins lighter and how to hold them when riding. When they reached the far end of the field, he took Delilah's reins in his hand and turned the horse back in the direction of the stable, and Rose returned in the way she had come.

The sun was high in the sky when they returned from this third pass, and Phillip declared that was good enough for Rose's first experience with riding. There was still more to learn, but they had nearly a fortnight until the wedding, plenty of time to go over it all. As he held Whisper still inside the stable, he asked Aurora if she needed help dismounting.

Rose looked over the side of the horse. Her feet were four feet from the ground, perhaps. She had climbed down from similar heights before so she decided she would try to do it on her own. With one leg extended down toward the ground, she slid off the side of Whisper's back and landed softly on her feet. The front of her dress was a bit rumpled from the slide, but otherwise the maneuver had worked well.

"There you go," Phillip said approvingly. As before, he explained that there would be servants to help her down if needed, and she would be able to hand Whisper off to a nearby groom who would take care of her. But for now, he could show her how to groom a horse after riding, should she ever want to do it herself. He showed her how to remove clods of dirt from Whisper's hooves and then the two of them together brushed the mare down thoroughly.

By the time the prince and the princess were done, they were famished, and they eagerly returned to the castle to eat a hearty breakfast. Over breakfast, Rose asked Phillip if he would stay long in this kingdom.

"At least as long as it takes to teach you to ride," Phillip said. "At some point, I'll have to go back - I mean, both of us will." The wedding ceremony would be held in King Hubert's domain. "We might even be able to return together. It's a lovely ride."

Rose's eyes lit up. That did sound like it would be a wonderful experience. Internally, she set her mind on mastering the skill of riding well enough to make it a possibility.

Over the course of the next week, it was a regular occurrence to see the royal couple riding around the fields near the royal stables, and later, picking their way along the trails that cut through the woods near the castle.

In the end, however, Phillip was called back to his own kingdom early to assist in the wedding preparations and he had agreed to go, confident in Rose's horsemanship. So she ended up making her way to his kingdom in a big column that went on and on, which included King Stefan and Queen Leah and all their important retainers and all the commonfolk who wanted to witness at least part of the event. All were invited - all, that is, except for a fairy that shall not be named. The column of people arrived just in time, late on the day before the wedding was set to take place.

The weather on the day of the wedding was warm and clear. Announced by trumpets and banner bearers, the royal couple made their way on their horses down cobblestone streets, smiling and waving at crowds of bystanders. Following behind them was a grand and festive parade; off to their sides, brightly colored banners streamed from windows, and stalls of people selling street food and commemorative knick-knacks had been set up in squares near the parade route. The parade ended at the castle where a smaller group of people gathered to watch vows and rings be exchanged.

In the audience, Queen Leah wept tears of joy and longing alike. Beside her, her husband's face was filled with the same mix of emotions. It had always been the plan to marry Phillip and Aurora immediately after the latter had returned from the good fairies' care, but now that it was actually happening, it was only the two of them who had come to regret that decision. After all, the young couple was eager and impatient and in love, and Hubert was itching to get it all done with, having never experienced a separation from his child longer than a few weeks. The fairies knew they would have a smaller part of Briar Rose's life and would not be able to see her as often, but that would happen wedding or no. So the wedding was a time of unadulterated happiness for them and Fauna's tears were all joy.

Leah and Stefan's main comfort was that the prince and princess, knowing how difficult the separation had been for the two, had agreed to live together with them, rather than at the new castle Hubert had had built specially for them. That castle would wait, well taken care of by a minimal set of staff but otherwise empty for most of the year, until the couple was ready to assume the throne. But Aurora and Phillip were a unit now, making their own decisions, sharing their confidence in each other. It was this knowledge that made the moment bittersweet.

After the ceremony was witnessed, there was a feast that lasted most of the afternoon, and then the royal couple quietly slipped away. The king and queen later found out from the fairies - who had flown after them - that they had stolen away on their horses deep into the forest and spent the evening strolling together, still in their heavy, fine wedding dress, watching fireflies light up the woods. Though Leah and Stefan could not help but feel some anxiety about their daughter being in a far-off and isolated place, outside the protection of castle and servants and family, the image nevertheless brought relief and some contentment. It was not lost on either of them that Phillip was a kind of guide for their daughter, an eccentric sort of prince who split his time between the woods that had been home to Briar Rose and the bustling castle town that was now the home of Princess Aurora. He uniquely had the special ability to translate between the two worlds and ease her transition into the latter. And there was no one - there could be no one - who they trusted more to keep her safe.

Though the prince and the princess were no longer among the party, Queen Leah and King Stefan and his friend King Hubert led all the wedding guests in one more toast to the wedding and future happiness of Prince Phillip and the Princess Aurora.


End file.
